Val Poore
@vallypee.bsky.social
Memoir author & blogger from UK & South Africa. Historic barge owner, dog lover. Africa is in my blood, France in in my soul. I live in the Netherlands and love the waterways. Other stuff? #F1 #welovememoirs #LH44
No politics. No DMs, unless I know you.🇿🇦🇳🇱
No politics. No DMs, unless I know you.🇿🇦🇳🇱
Pinned
With the sun in my face
I found my own place
At the wheel of my boat
And a life lived afloat
Join me on my adventures learning the ropes of living and travelling on Europe’s waterways
#welovememoirs #BooksWorthReading
www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Valer...
I found my own place
At the wheel of my boat
And a life lived afloat
Join me on my adventures learning the ropes of living and travelling on Europe’s waterways
#welovememoirs #BooksWorthReading
www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Valer...
Reposted by Val Poore
And the last of February’s WLM SOs is for @suebavey.bsky.social. Here’s the link to her great collection.
www.amazon.com/stores/S-Bav...
www.amazon.com/stores/S-Bav...
S Bavey: books, biography, latest update
Follow S Bavey and explore their bibliography from Amazon's S Bavey Author Page.
www.amazon.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:35 PM
And the last of February’s WLM SOs is for @suebavey.bsky.social. Here’s the link to her great collection.
www.amazon.com/stores/S-Bav...
www.amazon.com/stores/S-Bav...
With the sun in my face
I found my own place
At the wheel of my boat
And a life lived afloat
Join me on my adventures learning the ropes of living and travelling on Europe’s waterways
#welovememoirs #BooksWorthReading
www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Valer...
I found my own place
At the wheel of my boat
And a life lived afloat
Join me on my adventures learning the ropes of living and travelling on Europe’s waterways
#welovememoirs #BooksWorthReading
www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Valer...
February 2, 2026 at 8:29 PM
With the sun in my face
I found my own place
At the wheel of my boat
And a life lived afloat
Join me on my adventures learning the ropes of living and travelling on Europe’s waterways
#welovememoirs #BooksWorthReading
www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Valer...
I found my own place
At the wheel of my boat
And a life lived afloat
Join me on my adventures learning the ropes of living and travelling on Europe’s waterways
#welovememoirs #BooksWorthReading
www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Valer...
Great travel memoirs about Spain's Malaga and environs from Karen O'Connor. I've enjoyed all three! www.amazon.com/stores/Karen...
#welovememoirs #travel
#welovememoirs #travel
Karen O'Connor: books, biography, latest update
Follow Karen O'Connor and explore their bibliography from Amazon's Karen O'Connor Author Page.
www.amazon.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:03 PM
Great travel memoirs about Spain's Malaga and environs from Karen O'Connor. I've enjoyed all three! www.amazon.com/stores/Karen...
#welovememoirs #travel
#welovememoirs #travel
Carrier to Classroom: My Unexpected Path from Petty Officer to Professor by James H. O'Connor vallypee.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/c... via @vallypee
Carrier to Classroom: My Unexpected Path from Petty Officer to Professor by James H. O’Connor
My rating: 5 of 5 starsHaving got to know the author’s wife through reading her memoirs and interacting online, I was very pleased to be asked to be an ARC reader for James O’Connor’s own book and …
vallypee.wordpress.com
January 30, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Carrier to Classroom: My Unexpected Path from Petty Officer to Professor by James H. O'Connor vallypee.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/c... via @vallypee
Reposted by Val Poore
Broken Fence, Winter Field
(Palo Alto County, Iowa ; Jan 2026)
Join the #BlueSkyArtShow
Saturday January 24, 2026
The theme is #Cold
📷 Pentax K3 Mk III Monochrome
🔘 Pentax 20-40mm F/2.8
#countrylife #rural #barbedwire #snow #winter #icy #Pentax #K3MkIIIMono #ClassicMono #B&W #Iowa
(Palo Alto County, Iowa ; Jan 2026)
Join the #BlueSkyArtShow
Saturday January 24, 2026
The theme is #Cold
📷 Pentax K3 Mk III Monochrome
🔘 Pentax 20-40mm F/2.8
#countrylife #rural #barbedwire #snow #winter #icy #Pentax #K3MkIIIMono #ClassicMono #B&W #Iowa
January 24, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Broken Fence, Winter Field
(Palo Alto County, Iowa ; Jan 2026)
Join the #BlueSkyArtShow
Saturday January 24, 2026
The theme is #Cold
📷 Pentax K3 Mk III Monochrome
🔘 Pentax 20-40mm F/2.8
#countrylife #rural #barbedwire #snow #winter #icy #Pentax #K3MkIIIMono #ClassicMono #B&W #Iowa
(Palo Alto County, Iowa ; Jan 2026)
Join the #BlueSkyArtShow
Saturday January 24, 2026
The theme is #Cold
📷 Pentax K3 Mk III Monochrome
🔘 Pentax 20-40mm F/2.8
#countrylife #rural #barbedwire #snow #winter #icy #Pentax #K3MkIIIMono #ClassicMono #B&W #Iowa
I love these books and have read every one of them!
🎩📚🎩📚🎩📚🎩📚🎩
Join Scotland Yard’s Detective Division as they hunt down criminals through the murky gaslit streets of 1860s London!
THE VICTORIAN DETECTIVES
Author.to/Victoriancrime
11 books, over 2,000 reviews. Pure unadulterated escapism!
#booksky #historicalfiction #books #crimefiction
Join Scotland Yard’s Detective Division as they hunt down criminals through the murky gaslit streets of 1860s London!
THE VICTORIAN DETECTIVES
Author.to/Victoriancrime
11 books, over 2,000 reviews. Pure unadulterated escapism!
#booksky #historicalfiction #books #crimefiction
January 22, 2026 at 2:18 PM
I love these books and have read every one of them!
I am SO looking forward to reading this! @victoriatwead.bsky.social is a great writer, so I’m sure it will be as good as her excellent memoirs!
#crimefiction
a.co/d/2mmofmG
m.media-amazon.com/images/I/814...
#crimefiction
a.co/d/2mmofmG
m.media-amazon.com/images/I/814...
January 22, 2026 at 9:14 AM
I am SO looking forward to reading this! @victoriatwead.bsky.social is a great writer, so I’m sure it will be as good as her excellent memoirs!
#crimefiction
a.co/d/2mmofmG
m.media-amazon.com/images/I/814...
#crimefiction
a.co/d/2mmofmG
m.media-amazon.com/images/I/814...
Reposted by Val Poore
Smorgasbord Short Stories and Poetry - Variety is the Spice of Life - The Green Hill and Marriage by Sally Cronin smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/s...
Smorgasbord Short Stories and Poetry – Variety is the Spice of Life – The Green Hill and Marriage by Sally Cronin
Over the next few weeks I will be sharing the stories and a selection of poetry from my collection Variety is the Spice of Life… I hope new readers to the blog will enjoy. The Green Hill The…
smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Smorgasbord Short Stories and Poetry - Variety is the Spice of Life - The Green Hill and Marriage by Sally Cronin smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/s...
I may be ‘out of Africa’ now, but Africa will never be out of me.
Come reminisce with me in my three-book series about my two decades of life in #SouthAfrica.
99c per book till Sunday on Kindle Countdown!!
amazon.com/dp/B095BQ9FXN
#welovememoirs #travel #BooksWorthReading
Come reminisce with me in my three-book series about my two decades of life in #SouthAfrica.
99c per book till Sunday on Kindle Countdown!!
amazon.com/dp/B095BQ9FXN
#welovememoirs #travel #BooksWorthReading
January 13, 2026 at 3:21 PM
I may be ‘out of Africa’ now, but Africa will never be out of me.
Come reminisce with me in my three-book series about my two decades of life in #SouthAfrica.
99c per book till Sunday on Kindle Countdown!!
amazon.com/dp/B095BQ9FXN
#welovememoirs #travel #BooksWorthReading
Come reminisce with me in my three-book series about my two decades of life in #SouthAfrica.
99c per book till Sunday on Kindle Countdown!!
amazon.com/dp/B095BQ9FXN
#welovememoirs #travel #BooksWorthReading
Reposted by Val Poore
Tuesday - Anything Possible - Finger Point Prompt - "Focus" johnwhowell.com/2026/01/13/t... @johnhowellauthor.bsky.social
Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Focus”
Today, I randomly opened The Last Drive to page 129. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “focus.” This is our prompt today. Focus by John W.…
johnwhowell.com
January 13, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Tuesday - Anything Possible - Finger Point Prompt - "Focus" johnwhowell.com/2026/01/13/t... @johnhowellauthor.bsky.social
Thank you so much, @sallycronin.bsky.social, for this wonderful review of my first boat life book!
Smorgasbord Book Reviews #Canals #Barges #Holland - Watery Ways (The Living Aboard series Book 1) by Valerie Poore smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/s... @vallypee.bsky.social
Smorgasbord Book Reviews #Canals #Barges #Holland – Watery Ways (The Living Aboard series Book 1) by Valerie Poore
About the book In this account of her first year of living on a barge in Rotterdam’s Oude Haven, Valerie Poore’s overriding impression is that “one of the first things you learn about living …
smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com
January 10, 2026 at 8:13 AM
Thank you so much, @sallycronin.bsky.social, for this wonderful review of my first boat life book!
Reposted by Val Poore
CarolCooks2…A-Z World Cuisines…Part 60…Discovering the Cuisine of the Netherlands...informally known as Holland! Also famous for Windmills, Canals and Tulip Fields... carolcooks2.com/2026/01/05/c... @carolcookstwo.bsky.social
CarolCooks2…A-Z World Cuisines…Part 60…Discovering the Cuisine of the Netherlands…informally known as Holland! Also famous for Windmills, Canals and Tulip Fields…
The Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, bordered by the North Sea, Belgium, and Germany, known for its flat, low-lying terrain and extensive water management systems. It’s …
carolcooks2.com
January 10, 2026 at 8:01 AM
CarolCooks2…A-Z World Cuisines…Part 60…Discovering the Cuisine of the Netherlands...informally known as Holland! Also famous for Windmills, Canals and Tulip Fields... carolcooks2.com/2026/01/05/c... @carolcookstwo.bsky.social
An excellent psychological drama!
Gripping and compelling!
Gripping and compelling!
🔰 TOO FAR STANDING STILL 🔰
"The author has crafted a dark, relentlessly paced book that is gripping, complex, and mind-bending. At every turn, she reels the reader into an edgy, suspenseful web of intrigue that keeps them fully captivated." 🌆
mybook.to/TFSS 📗
#suspense 💥 #KindleUnlimited
"The author has crafted a dark, relentlessly paced book that is gripping, complex, and mind-bending. At every turn, she reels the reader into an edgy, suspenseful web of intrigue that keeps them fully captivated." 🌆
mybook.to/TFSS 📗
#suspense 💥 #KindleUnlimited
January 9, 2026 at 8:36 AM
An excellent psychological drama!
Gripping and compelling!
Gripping and compelling!
Reposted by Val Poore
I like the contrast with Creswell Crags which has had human occupancy for over 50,000 years with the very modern jet vapour trail above.
January 5, 2026 at 5:30 PM
I like the contrast with Creswell Crags which has had human occupancy for over 50,000 years with the very modern jet vapour trail above.
Reposted by Val Poore
January SO for our founding star @victoriatwead.bsky.social www.amazon.com/stores/Victo...
Victoria Twead: books, biography, latest update
Follow Victoria Twead and explore their bibliography from Amazon's Victoria Twead Author Page.
www.amazon.com
January 9, 2026 at 8:26 AM
January SO for our founding star @victoriatwead.bsky.social www.amazon.com/stores/Victo...
Reposted by Val Poore
Reposted by Val Poore
Reposted by Val Poore
Continuing our January SOs for WLM supporters here. This one’s for @sallycronin.bsky.social
www.amazon.com/stores/Sally...
www.amazon.com/stores/Sally...
Sally Cronin: books, biography, latest update
Follow Sally Cronin and explore their bibliography from Amazon's Sally Cronin Author Page.
www.amazon.com
January 9, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Continuing our January SOs for WLM supporters here. This one’s for @sallycronin.bsky.social
www.amazon.com/stores/Sally...
www.amazon.com/stores/Sally...
Reposted by Val Poore
Reposted by Val Poore
Smorgasbord Funnies 2026 - Hosts Sally Cronin and Debby Gies - Exercise and A Learning Curve smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/08/s... @dgkayewriter.bsky.social
Smorgasbord Funnies 2026 – Hosts Sally Cronin and Debby Gies – Exercise and A Learning Curve
As always some funnies foraged from the web from Debby Gies – D.G. Writes is where you will find an archive full of wonderful posts across several subjects including writing tips, social issu…
smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Smorgasbord Funnies 2026 - Hosts Sally Cronin and Debby Gies - Exercise and A Learning Curve smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/08/s... @dgkayewriter.bsky.social
Reposted by Val Poore
Thursday - A Little Personal - Twiggy and Tempeste in Conversation johnwhowell.com/2026/01/08/t... another delightful exchange between @johnhowellauthor.bsky.social two girls..
Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy and Tempeste in Conversation
“Wow. That sun feels good on the face, Twiggy.” “Tell me about it. We haven’t laid out for quite a while.” “Why don’t we do this more often?” “…
johnwhowell.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Thursday - A Little Personal - Twiggy and Tempeste in Conversation johnwhowell.com/2026/01/08/t... another delightful exchange between @johnhowellauthor.bsky.social two girls..
Reposted by Val Poore
"KELLCEY is a story everyone should read. This narrative about the effects of a brutal sexual attack on a teenage girl is timeless. Rape is not just a horrible, traumatizing experience, it changes a victim’s life forever".
www.amazon.com/Kellcey-Kace...
www.amazon.com/Kellcey-Kace...
February 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
"KELLCEY is a story everyone should read. This narrative about the effects of a brutal sexual attack on a teenage girl is timeless. Rape is not just a horrible, traumatizing experience, it changes a victim’s life forever".
www.amazon.com/Kellcey-Kace...
www.amazon.com/Kellcey-Kace...
This is so hypnotic and so wonderfully Dutch! youtu.be/SmMRVeRs3vU?...
Commuting in the snow (Utrecht, Netherlands)
YouTube video by BicycleDutch
youtu.be
January 8, 2026 at 8:30 AM
This is so hypnotic and so wonderfully Dutch! youtu.be/SmMRVeRs3vU?...
Reposted by Val Poore
Smorgasbord Book Reviews Retro - January 2025 - #Wales #Memoir Beth Haslam, #Murder #Mystery Sharon Marchisello, #Crime Australia Fiona Tarr, #Supernatural @johnhowellauthor.bsky.social #History #SouthAfrica Pat Spencer smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/s...
Smorgasbord Book Reviews Retro – January 2025 – #Wales #Memoir Beth Haslam, #Murder #Mystery Sharon Marchisello, #Crime Australia Fiona Tarr, #Supernatural John W. Howell, #History #SouthAfrica Pat ...
Good books deserve being shared on a regular basis and as always during the year I will revisit my reviews from the last 12 months to remind you of my recommendations. The first review for 2025 was…
smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Smorgasbord Book Reviews Retro - January 2025 - #Wales #Memoir Beth Haslam, #Murder #Mystery Sharon Marchisello, #Crime Australia Fiona Tarr, #Supernatural @johnhowellauthor.bsky.social #History #SouthAfrica Pat Spencer smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/s...
Reposted by Val Poore
Smorgasbord Book Promotions 2026 - Share an Excerpt - Boost one of your books - smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/08/s... open to authors who have already been promoted on the blog... and opportunity to showcase a book with a 500 word excerpt.
Smorgasbord Book Promotions 2026 – Share an Excerpt – Boost one of your books –
In this series beginning in February 2026, you are invited to share an excerpt of 400 to 500 words from any book you have written you would like to give a boost to. This feature is for any author w…
smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com
January 8, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Smorgasbord Book Promotions 2026 - Share an Excerpt - Boost one of your books - smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2026/01/08/s... open to authors who have already been promoted on the blog... and opportunity to showcase a book with a 500 word excerpt.